Some complained that Tyler, whose band is Boston-based, tweaked the lyrics in several places.

He has been criticised for singing ‘as bomb bursting in air’ instead of ‘the bombs bursting in air’ and appearing to sing ‘oh the land of the free’ instead of ‘o’er the land of the free.’And the controversial performance is still being debated on Twitter. One latecomer said: ‘Finally saw Steven Tyler’s rendition of the anthem. I’m pretty sure that performance qualifies as treason.’